Best friends Brandon Tucker and Joshua Thomas opened a microroastery in Russellville on Jan. 1 in an effort to bring fresh coffee Arkansas River Valley residents.

"We both love coffee," Tucker said. "We had both heard complaints about there being no fresh roasted coffee available here. We decided to see if we could learn how to make coffee."

Tucker, 23, graduated from Arkansas Tech University (ATU) in May. His wife, Samantha, is a trained barista.

"She's excited to get her hands on professional equipment," Tucker said with a smile.

He met Thomas while they were both students at ATU. Thomas, 24, will graduate in May.

The pair spent four months perfecting their signature roast, ordering coffee beans from a Guatemalan farm and figuring out exactly how long to roast the beans.

"It's a very intricate process," Tucker said.

They opened Penny University Coffee at 109 S. Boulder Ave. to let people try their coffee, but their vision is subscription-based fresh coffee delivery rather than running a coffee shop.

Customers can order at the shop, which is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday and Monday, or online at pennyuniversity.com to have ready-to-brew coffee in a mason jar delivered to their doorsteps weekly. The friends will retrieve the mason jars when they deliver the next week's supply.

"This way we're helping the environment, getting to know people and providing them with coffee that was roasted the day before," Tucker said. "Most people have never had a fresh cup of coffee in their life."

Tucker said coffee purchased in grocery stores was typically roasted weeks or months before it reaches customers.

In addition to weekly subscriptions, Penny University Coffee also offers single 8-ounce-bags for $10. Tucker said subscription customers get a discount which translates to six-ounce bags of coffee every week for $24 per month.

"If you're going to buy coffee, it may as well be local, organic, fresh and delivered," he said.